tom yum goong

Anyone with a Jazz here, I'm thinking of changing the Isuzu and buying an economical car as I do lots of Km's and although the Isuzu is great with 2 other pick-up's in the house I dont really need it, would you get over 14/l. I used to have a toyota salona which I found more economical than the pick-up's

RC

My Jazz Vtec (manual) is currently averaging about 12 km/l (8.3 l/100km). 90% of driving is short trips around Phuket Town, which is not too bad for traffic, but speeds are always quite low, around 30-40km/h.

I've heard the Vtec takes a while to run in properly and that results should continue to improve up to 10,000 km (its on around 3,000 now).

Shame the Thai built Jazz doesn't come with a fuel consumption calculator like the JDM ones. I think it would be quite interesting to be able to instantly see how your driving style and conditions affect fuel consumption.

Thats quality.

Fat Rafa has come out with a few classics recently. He is more of a whinger than Wenger, and thats saying something.

I think the Yaris is quite cute but i'm glad i bought my Jazz vtec and didn't bother waiting for the Yaris.

I hope i wont regret not waiting for the facelifted Jazz though.

the weird thing is wearing braces has become fashionable.

maybe the next cool thing will be dentures.

not until Jungceylon opens.

not quite sure what kind of market you are looking for.

there are fresh markets (talad nud), which sell fresh produce - fruits, vegetables, meat etc.

these can be found all over Phuket. One is the market on Ranong road in Phuket Town, just past the traffic circle. On certain days of the week there is also a market next to Robinsons (talad kaset). There are also big markets up at Cherng Talay, Thalang, down by Rawai, all over the island really. Most are open every other day.

then there are the weekend markets that sell clothing, jewelry, etc. These markets also feature lots of snacks and other food. There are two main markets in Phuket Town. I think the largest is Chao Fah Variety (kinda weird name), which is opposite Naka Temple, just off Chao Fah West road going away from town. The other market is the old Tai Rot market. This is on Phang Nga road, not far from the bus station (opposite the Mazda showroom). It used to be much bigger but i think its still going strong.

absolute scumbags, the lot of them

in Phuket Town they come by everyday. not sure if this is different for Chalong.

u mean the syrup that is added to nam manao soda to sweeten it or do u mean lime flavoured syrup?

if u want a basic syrup just make it yourself. its very straightforward.

1 Put one cup of water in a small saucepan.

2 Add two cups of sugar.

3 Heat to a boil while stirring.

4 Reduce heat and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.

5 Cool to room temperature.

6 Find a container such as an used mineral water bottle and store it in the fridge to keep the ants away from it.

then to make nam manao soda just squeeze a few limes and pour in some soda.

its hard to find good concentrate (squash) in Thailand though. I miss Robinsons apple and balckcurrant.

isn't the cheapest Yaris 599,000? not much difference anyway i guess. Can't understand why its so much more than the Jazz and Vios. Is that price for a manual??

I passed one on the way to the office this morning in my Jazz and it looked a bit smaller than the Jazz but its hard to tell. I heard from someone else that the interior also feels slightly smaller than the Jazz.

I don't think the engine is much to shout about though. Its already been out in the Vios for a few years. Couldn't they have developed something more up to date? VVT is hardly cutting edge.

Cute looking car though. My girlfriend is thinking about getting one.

i think u can find such a place.

there must be loads of places in more remote areas of the island such as around Mai Khao, around Kathu or even near Bang Pae waterfall that would qualify.

You will have trouble getting ADSL but u could try IPstar.

Phuket is a big island.

A fresh university graduate will make about 10 000 - 12 000 baht per month.

I would say this would be 7,000 to 12,000 baht for a fresh graduate.

Smaller Thai or Chinese run companies would normally start at around 7,000. Larger companies and farang owned companies may start at 10,000.

Also wages in the provinces are a lot lower than in BKK.

About a dozen years ago I visited Phuket Island and rented a motocy to go exploring. There was a beach that had a rather long footpath as its only access and the footpath reached the beach at one end only. The beach was naturally sort of split in half by some rocks and the near part of the beach was for wearing clothes and the farther, more secluded beach was for no clothes. There weren't many people there on either part of the beach. It was all sort of low key. At the time I wondered if this was legal or not and whether it was a regular thing or just something the few Thai men who were hanging around had invented with the hopes of seeing some nud_e bodies. Has anyone else run into this?....does it still exist?

If you know of this please do NOT give any indication of its location...don't spoil a good thing.

Sounds like Nai Han Beach. Past the rocks at the south (maybe that's actually SE?) end of the beach there was a tradition of topless and/or nud_e sunbathing. Might still be.

u mean they used to sunbathe nud_e in front of the monastery in Nai Harn? talk about total lack of respect. Anyway, the bit about the footpath and rocks doesn't sound like Nai Harn.

Could be somewhere like Laem Singh, pretty secluded and sort of fits the description.

Apologies for getting it wrong about renouncing British nationality, i was told this some time ago. It was something to do with Napoleon actually being a British subject by way of his mother (can't remember the details). Between Napoleon's time and now obviously the laws have changed

However, I'm pretty sure you can not have dual nationality as a Thai. You have to choose your nationality at 18. If this has changed i have definitely not heard of it. Do u have a link to any info?

I have 2 passports, Thai and British.

I use my Thai to enter and leave Thailand, and my British to enter/leave the UK or just about anywhere else.

Airline check-in staff always ask to see my British when i am leaving Thailand just to check i can legally enter the country. I have on the odd occasion been asked by Thai immigration whether i have another passport on entering Thailand as they can't find a visa or stamp in my passport indicating where i've been. They never seem bothered when i tell them i also have a British passport and just let me through.

The thing about having to choose when you are 18 is because as far as i am aware, Thailand does not recognise dual nationality. Therefore you are "supposed" to decide which nationality you will keep when u turn 18.

However, for anyone with British nationality this is impossible because u cannot renounce your British citizenship. I could stand in front of the British embassy in Bangkok and burn my passport whilst verbally abusing the Queen, but if i applied for a new one they would still give me one.

So i wouldn't worry too much. As long as you don't advertise the fact that you have two passports (maybe i should take my own advice ), no one is going to give u any hassle.

You might have heard of a national scam in the past involving an SUV distributor from Japan, or a premium European brand, who tried to sell off its product with an engine that was actually meant for a larger-sized body spec.

Does anyone know what scams the article is referring to?

Just curious.

I'm using TOT 1024 kbps in Phuket and its not bad.

I do a lot of downloading and average about 80 kBs.

However, probably very different in BKK.

Anyway, I think it's likely that the luuk kreungs will just end up assimulating back with the Thais (or westerners depending on where they settle)...mating with the local ethnic majority. I've always been curious about 2nd and 3rd generation luuk kreungs (Luuk kruengs mating with luuk kruengs) but it's quite rare..doesn't look like i'll mate with a fellow luuk kreung any time soon. Most luuk kruengs i know including myself mate with full/semi-full east or west breeds. (i.e. Anna jamp )

This is bound to happen of course. Unless as you say, us luk kruengs only mate with other non-Thais or each other. Maybe i should give Anna a call

As a luuk kreung, I don't consider all the mixed breeds as luuk kreung. There are some who were raised and bred in Thailand, and can't speak good English (or native of their mom/dad) . Those, are just Thais. Like my brother for example. He was born/raised in Thailand. Though his bio dad may have been American, he never knew him. He may have golden brown hair, but is dark as the next farmer, speaks/knows only Thai (and some Khmer/Chinese/Lao as any other Thai) and that's that. He's Thai.

Errm, how do u reach that conclusion? A luk krueng, or a person of mixed-race, is mixed-race no matter how they were brought up. If i could speak only Thai and had a nice tan, that would not make me (or your brother) any less of a luk kreung. Its not a state of mind you know.

Babble, bla, babble, bla!

Makes more sense than your previous paragraph.

I think the Luuk kreungs' need to stand up for foreigners' rights in Thailand They have the power because they are Thai Nationals/Western Nationals. The problem is they pretend only to be 100 percent Thai.(example Tata Yang).

I'm willing to bet a very large proportion of luk kreungs in Thailand are not western nationals, i.e. they only hold a Thai passport. Therefore, why would they see the need to stand up for foreigners' rights? For those that have been brought up in Thailand and only hold Thai nationality, I would say it is of the utmost importance that they act as Thai as they can, otherwise they will get nowhere fast.

As someone who has dual nationality (don't tell imigration ) and been brought up in both countries i find it hard enough to tread the middle line without kicking up a fuss over the rights of foreigners.

soft opening is planned middle of feb if i'm not mistaken. I think the grand opening will be sometime around May.

sounds like a plan.

how much does one of those hovercrafts cost? (hopefully less that 20 bilion baht.)

to be fair i haven't really noticed the difference between here and Bangkok. I think i spend a lot more money in Bangkok just because there is a lot more to do there.

Agree about the salaries though

there is a new resort on Layan beach in Phuket called Bundarika.

I heard

And? You have shares? Seriously... do they have a Wellness centre? I'm also interested in this line of therapy for written research.

lol, no i dont have shares but i know someone who works there.

I was told it was going to be along the lines Chivasom in Hua Hin but not as strict - dieticians issuing controlled diets spa regimes, yoga etc.

It was meant to open last year but was destroyed by the tsunami 1 day before they were due to open. Dont know much more about them apart from its quite small and their rates look pretty expensive.

doh! accidentally hit reply and can't edit my post.

Anyway, what i was trying to say is there is a new health resort on Layan beach in phuket called Bundarika. I was told that their spa was going to have detox programmes for people who wanted to give up alchohol or cigarettes (possibly drugs as well i guess).

They might be interested in hiring a counselor.

They haven't opened yet but u can try emailing them. Their website is:

http://bundarikaphuket.com/

I was facing this conundrum a few months ago.

In the UK i wouldn't dream of buying a new car. Cars depreciate so quickly and there are so many second hand bargains to be had. It doesnt make sense to buy new. But in Thailand, most cars hold their value very well and a 5 year old car may still be worth more than 50% of its original price.

I looked around for ages for a good deal on a 2nd hand car. Something for around 300k that wasnt more than 6 years old. It was pretty slim pickings.

I also thought about buying a nearly new car, anything up to a year. In many cases the price was only marginally cheaper than new. And at the back of my mind was always the worry that why would they be selling a car they had just bought? Very likely it was beacuse it was a lemon.

In the end i bought a new car. I didn't want to spend that much money on something just to get from A to B and if i could have a got a good deal for around 300k i would have taken it. But after looking around for ages, i don't think such a thing exists here.

With my new car i have a 3 year or 100,000 km waranty which affords me peace of mind. I know that if i wanted to sell in 4 years time i would get a decent price for it (its a Honda).

At the time everyone told me to buy a new car. I insisted that it doesn't make economic sense to buy a new car. In the end i realised they were right. This is Thailand and things rarely make sense.

I may be in the minority here but i use TOT goldcyber here in Phuket and it has always worked like a dream. I regularly download at around 80-90 kbps and have only experienced loss of connection twice in nearly 2 years.

I suppose the decent bandwidth could be explained by the fact that the contention ratio might be lower here in Phuket than lets say Bangkok?

Or could it that TOT has a special relationship with CAT since they are both state enterprises (and related?) and CAT gives TOT more bandwidth to the international gateway? I'm not sure this could be the case as I am pretty sure TOT doesn't actually provide the service but subcontracts it out to a company called Pacific Net (possibly just in Phuket?).

Anyway, i've never been less than with what i get for my 1000 baht/month.